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How to Find Grave Sites of Relatives

By Contributor ; Updated September 29, 2017

How to Find Grave Sites of Relatives. Individuals have many reasons for searching out the grave sites of relatives. You may want to pay your respects or learn more about your family history. Finding specific grave sites can sometimes be a challenge; but you can increase your chances of finding them if you check a variety of sources. Read on to learn more.

Ask other family members about where a relative may be buried. You may be able to narrow the location down to a particular cemetery or to a city. Cemetery records can then guide you to the actual grave site.

Search online grave registries to see if you can locate your relatives' graves. Sites like Find a Grave have searchable archives of grave locations. Not all graves are listed, even in the United States, but you may luck out and find what you're after.

Look through family documents including letters and official documents. You may find clues as to where particular individuals are buried. Sources that you might otherwise use for genealogy research may all provide information on grave sites.

Browse through cemetery records to find specific grave sites or to find if a relative has been buried at a particular cemetery. If you can't find information online or through family records, this can sometimes lead you to a grave site if you can narrow the search down to several cemeteries.

Hire professional researchers to look for undocumented cemeteries. If you know that a relative was buried in a particular area but the cemetery isn't marked, historians and human remains dogs can sometimes help you find where the grave is. Most of the time, this situation will develop if you're looking for an older grave site rather than a more recent one.